Wizard World New Orleans

I am a guest at Wizard World New Orleans, January 8th - 10th, 2016, stationed at table A25. I will have some copies of my latest graphic novels, BEEF WITH TOMATO, and FEAR, MY DEAR. Plus, rare copies of my exclusive THE WALKING DEAD cover, including limited edition prints and posters, for sale. And, I'm available for commissions. I will also be doing four panels and one of them is with my mother flying all the way from Florida!

6:00 PM- 6:45 PM HOW TO WRITE COMICS with MARVEL ZOMBIES’ FRED VAN LENTE, HARLEY QUINN’S JIMMY PALMIOTTI, CHEW’S JOSH LAYMAN, THE FOX’S DEAN HASPIEL & SPIDER-MAN’S DANNY FINGEROTH (ROOM 296)Accomplished comics writers Fred Van Lente (Marvel Zombies; Archer & Armstrong), Jimmy Palmiotti (Harley Quinn; The Monolith), Josh Layman (Chew; Batman Eternal), DEAN HASPIEL (The Fox; Beef With Tomato) and Danny Fingeroth (How to Create Comics From Script to Print; Spider-Man) talk about how to put together a compelling comics story. Plus, they’ll answer your questions about both the creative and business sides of the comics writing profession, including how to find an artist to work with (hint: a comics convention is the number one place!) and how to write exciting dialogue!

SATURDAY JANUARY 9:

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM WORKING BOTH SIDES: MAINSTREAM & INDY with SPY VS. SPY’S PETER KUPER, THE FOX’S DEAN HASPIEL, MARVEL ZOMBIES’ FRED VAN LENTE and BATMAN ‘66’s GABE SORIA (ROOM 296) The model of comics creators tethered to one or two major publishers, working on adventures of corporately-owned characters is no longer the only game in town. Many of the top talents in comics work either exclusively on their own material, while others work both sides of the street, alternating independent work with mainstream assignments done in their own distinctive styles. Here, speaking about how they have forged their own paths (and reading from their work), are some of the most distinctive creators in comics today: Peter Kuper (Spy Vs. Spy; Ruins), Dean Haspiel (Spider-Man; Billy Dogma), Fred Van Lente (Archer & Armstrong; Action Philosophers), and Gabe Soria (Batman ’66; House of Waxwork). The panel is moderated by Danny Fingeroth (The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels; Studs Terkel’s Working).

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM ALL IN THE (COMICS) FAMILY: JIMMY PALMIOTTI & AMANDA CONNER; CHRISTOS GAGE & RUTH FLETCHER GAGE; DEAN HASPIEL & BARBARA HASPIEL (ROOM 296)As in many other fields, in comics there are family members who work together and/or are inspirations to each other. Today we speak with three such amazing teams about how their relationships interact with their work. Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner are a married couple who have worked together on many projects including The Pro, Harley Quinn, Starfire and their company, PaperFilms. Another couple, Christos Gage and Ruth Fletcher Gage, have co-written the movies The Breed and Paradox as well as for the TV series Netflix’s Daredevil and Law & Order: SVU. Their graphic novel, The Lion of Rora, was released this past summer. Dean Haspiel has written and/or drawn comics including Spider-Man, The Fox, Billy Dogma and Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor. Dean is joined by his mother, Barbara Haspiel, who was a longtime executive at the New York State Council on the Arts. Dean refers to her as “my hero.” Danny Fingeroth (longtime Spider-Man editor and writer) moderates.